Dear Evan Hansen Previews — Page 5

Not really a code, but there are box seats available at the box office for $69.

talinatter said: "They posted a code on twitter for $69 box seats for tonight "

The tweet: https://twitter.com/DearEvanHansen/status/799013388697407488

Decided to switch my tickets from front row Left Orchestra to Front Row Center Mezz. I think I made the right choice. Can anyone inform me on the leg space in the front row? Thanks!

Was lucky to score two $50 tickets a few weeks back so the boyfriend and I saw the preview last night November 16th. I'd heard the buzz about this show but aside from knowing it was about a high school kid, we knew nothing of the plot, or even that it was a musical. We purposely kept ourselves out of the loop so we could be surprised and we went into the show last night as blank slates. It's a great show and the cast is excellent, but Ben Platt is simply astounding as Even Hansen. I didn't cry at all, but my bf did as did some of the people around me.

I was at last night's preview and was ready to reassess my feelings after being somewhat underwhelmed at Second Stage. I admit that I liked it more this time around, but I still wasn't completely won over. There were a few cosmetic changes to the lyrics and book, but essentially it's the same show that we saw off-Broadway. They have now made it very clear what really happened when Evan broke his arm, but other things I took issue with weren't changed. I think it still gives off a Next to Normal vibe, but it stood on it's own more for me on second viewing.

I didn't mind the projections of social media posts off-Broadway, but I wish they would have built more of a set for the transfer. They've added more screens, but they serve to distract rather than enhance.

I still wish Jennifer Laura Thompson had a song of her own. I still wish they opened up the show with a solo for Ben Platt. I still don't love Evan's two classmates or the ending, but obviously this is the show the creators are happy with and I really don't expect it to change at all during previews.

The two things the show really has going for it are the cast and the intriguing premise/plot progressions. The melodies are often very catchy too; the lyrics aren't always as strong as the music, but certainly rise above those in A Bronx Tale-esque fare.

I have a question for those who have followed this show more closely than I have: Has Platt or the creative team ever explicitly stated what condition Evan suffers from? One of my friends last night, who hadn't seen the show off-Broadway, was convinced at intermission that Evan had Asperger Syndrome. It's an understandable assumption give his inability to connect socially, his dislike of being touched and Platt's general mannerisms. After the second act he was he felt they changed course and simply made him a kid suffering from social anxiety. I think this is a flaw in the writing and quite frankly in Platt's performance, which is otherwise very strong. If he is on all these meds, wouldn't he be more numb than manic as he acts in the first half of act one? Maybe they're trying to remain ambiguous with what's medically going on with Evan, but I think they should be a little clearer.

This is making me sound like I didn't like the show at all, which isn't true. I do think there's a lot of good stuff there and I'll be making a return trip for sure. I guess I'm harsher on this show because I think it has so much more potential than your average workman like Broadway musical and I just don't think it reached its full potential yet.

I went to a talkback at Second Stage and from what I remember, Platt said he avoided picking or naming any one particular condition Evan might have. But I felt the same way you did in the way he changes so drastically between acts (I felt that way in DC as well).

Whizzer, I'm glad you had a similar opinion because I thought I was the only one! I went to the second preview, and while I really liked it, I wasn't "over the moon." It's one of the strongest contemporary musicals in recent history, but I didn't find it as innovative as people made it sound like it would be. Maybe I had too high of expectations?

Pasek and Paul wrote a great score, but their formula for this show was really apparent: almost all songs had an addition refrain before the chorus, a key change, a flip in to head voice/falsetto, or a mix of the three. At first, the show gave off that whiny teenage vibe, but luckily once the plot kicked in that tone kind of vanished. (And YES Whizzer, Ben needed a song in the opening. Even a verse or two with the moms.)

I still loved it. I still sobbed during "You Will Be Found." (Like, ugly sobbed.) I'm glad to see original musical theatre is still alive and well. I just don't get why people want this show to win for Best Musical, especially in such a busy season! (Also, Ben Platt was stellar, as were both Rachel Bay Jones and Jennifer Laura Thompson!)

Thanks for the responses stating that Platt and Co are specifically not putting a label on Evan's issues. While I think that's fine in theory, the problem with not telling us coupled with Platt's ambiguous performance is that the entire show hinges on how we judge Evan's actions. My ability to empathize with what he did could greatly change based on whether he's a neurotypical kid or if he lands somewhere on the autistic spectrum (or something other specific condition that would engender understanding).

BraveSirRobin: At first, the show gave off that whiny teenage vibe, but luckily once the plot kicked in that tone kind of vanished.

I agree with you. I wish they had kind of overhauled the beginning; the first act feels too long and the first 15 minutes is where they could make cuts and clean things up. I find all the interactions on the first day of school cringeworthy and annoying. I made me dread what was to come at first too because I didn't want to sit through 2h45m of teens whining. Once we get to the meat of the story the show takes such an interesting turn for the better that you almost forget about the shaky start by the end, but upon second viewing the opening stuck out even more so with the knowledge of what was to come.

I have a question for those who have followed this show more closely than I have: Has Platt or the creative team ever explicitly stated what condition Evan suffers from? One of my friends last night, who hadn't seen the show off-Broadway, was convinced at intermission that Evan had Asperger Syndrome. It's an understandable assumption give his inability to connect socially, his dislike of being touched and Platt's general mannerisms. After the second act he was he felt they changed course and simply made him a kid suffering from social anxiety. I think this is a flaw in the writing and quite frankly in Platt's performance, which is otherwise very strong. If he is on all these meds, wouldn't he be more numb than manic as he acts in the first half of act one? Maybe they're trying to remain ambiguous with what's medically going on with Evan, but I think they should be a little clearer.


What makes you think he's on "all these meds" because he "has something"? His mother asks him twice during the show if he needs a refill but otherwise there's no mention of it. Perhaps he takes one (or one-half) pill a day of some anti-anxiety drug. Doctors today tend to over-medicate anyway--even teenagers--perhaps because patients demand it (a pill can fix anything; we've seen the commercials!). Fifty years ago, the doctor would have told Evan's mother that he was just very shy and would outgrow it. And I never got the impression that Evan was averse to touching people.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't track Evan's change from Act 1 to Act 2. I know it's never officially stated, but I deal with a mild amount of social anxiety myself, and there are definitely things that help you cope and a manage, but you can't make it disappear. The way the show is written (at least from Second Stage) it comes off that Evan gets a girlfriend and is popular so he's totally fine- it doesn't really work that way.

I really like the cast and the score of this show, but at Second Stage I thought the book had serious issues and it doesn't sound like they've done much to work that out.

WhizzerMarvin said: "While I think that's fine in theory, the problem with not telling us coupled with Platt's ambiguous performance is that the entire show hinges on how we judge Evan's actions. My ability to empathize with what he did could greatly change based on whether he's a neurotypical kid or if he lands somewhere on the autistic spectrum (or something other specific condition that would engender understanding)."

Thank you. My biggest issue with the show was a lack of empathy for Evan. Since we can't figure out what exactly he's dealing with, it's hard to understand where he's coming from and how his actions are justified. Overall I found the book the least enjoyable part of the show, with the set following closely behind.

In DC, Evan did have a big role in the opening number, but the song was earwormy and not in a good way.